The Case for Putting Pork Floss on…Almost Everything

Most recipes I stumble upon call for a pinch of salt or a twist offreshly ground pepper, the obligatory finishing touches to many meals. But if I truly had it my way, I’d embellish every dish with a heaping fistful of pork floss.

Pork floss, also called rousong, is a pantry item living the best of both flavor and texture worlds. These fluffy, matted tufts pack a sweet and savory crunch and dissolve like cotton candy upon first bite, usually all at once. Sprinkled atop a bowl ofcongee的首选菜每当我生病时,它会创建一个年代poonful of nostalgia. And when I’m craving a late-night snack, I’ll simply wrap pork floss in a scallion pancake or naan, burrito-style, to savor each delightful bite of umami.

Traditionally across Asia, pork floss is wrapped between rice and seaweed, sandwiched between fluffy pieces of bread, and combined with stewed pork belly. It’s a common sight in the bakeries and restaurants of China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore, and devoted home cooks always keep a tub or two on hand. Even on its own, pork floss is dangerously snackable, like movie-theater popcorn, but in my opinion, way better.

Besides obvious shape and textural differences, other dried meats—from snack aisle jerky to thinly squared Chinese rou gan—marinate overnight in a medley of sauces and dehydrate in an oven. Requiring just a stove top to make, the journey to pork floss is much simpler, with ample room to experiment. It just involves a slow braise followed by some stirring and flaking-apart as each shred becomes dry and crisp. Most versions are made from pork, but this wispy confection can also be spun up with fish, chicken, soybean, or vegetables, and mixed with dried seaweed or spices for an extra kick.

Because pork floss is somewhat tedious to make but cheap to buy, most home cooks opt to purchase this pantry item from their local Asian grocery store (or online).FormosaandKimboare two popular pork floss brands, and within those brands, there are two pork floss varieties: pork sung and pork fu. The latter is less fried and less shredded, though the differences are minimal.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert

Pork floss's origins begin hundreds of years ago in China. The story goes that about 800 years back, Genghis Khan and his soldiers traveled with sacks of thinly sliced dried meat known as borts throughout the Mongol empire. Not long after, in the 13th century, Marco Polo’s travel notes detail a Mongolian cavalry carrying milk powder and dried meat on military expeditions. Much later, in the mid-19th century, the first commercial pork floss companies concocted competing origin stories, albeit with similar plots. (A chef claims to accidentally overcook the meat and in an attempt to salvage the remains, fries the meat to a savory crisp.)

Folklore aside, what we do know is this: humans have feasted on dried meat since the beginning of civilization. So really, it’s no surprise that this preservation technique survives today in these savory, porky tufts.

In Taiwan, pork floss has become a fixture in casual breakfasts and small dishes. Chef Ivy Chen, who’staughtTaiwanese cooking classes in Taipei since 1997, remembers sneaking bites of her mother’s homemade pork floss directly from the wok and eating it with her congee, Taiwanese sushi, and taro cakes. These days she manages a busy schedule, so she reaches for store-bought pork floss to season dishes like pineapple fried rice and pineapple pizza. Of all her culinary tests, her most surprising pork floss pairing is peanut butter. “It’s pasty and binds all the pork floss,” she says. “And Taiwanese people just like salty and savory things together.”

Pork floss is a home baker favorite too. Kristina Cho, a James Beard award-winning cookbookauthorand voracious home baker, always keeps a spare jar of Formosa pork floss in her kitchen. Flip through her cookbookMooncakes and Milkbread,and you’re greeted with a mouth-watering photo of her popularPork Floss and Seaweed Pull-Apart Rolls. Cho, who ate pork floss in traditional Chinese dishes growing up, says she still discovers new uses for it today. Just a few years ago, she noticed that pork floss could be a fluffy substitution for bacon, and something just clicked.

“You could add it to anything where you’d typically want some salty porky flavor notes,” Cho says. “Adding it to asalad这真的很可爱,也创造了好的textur吗e. It’s also baked potato season, and so I put some sour cream, chives, and just a little fluff of pork floss.”

And it’s a staple in her ideal savory breakfast, where she mixes pork floss and furikake and tosses it on oatmeal or cottage cheese. But the possible combinations do not end there. Hot dogs, cream of corn, pancakes, toast, pasta, cake, Hawaiian rolls with condensed milk (a favorite of chef Eva Chin, Executive Chef atAvling), and really anything that needs a porky burst can benefit from even a dash of pork floss. As for the pairings to avoid, foods of the wetter varieties such as brothy soup will dampen pork floss from its crispy glory.

For all the love pork floss receives in various Asian dishes, admiration of this flaky dried meat is universal, especially in the arid climate of northern Nigeria. Lola Osinkolu, a recipe developer based in southern California, recalls utter joy upon receiving gifts of meat floss, or dambu nama, from her northern Nigerian relatives. So shedevelopedher own meat floss recipe with curry powder, thyme, andsuya. “My kids don't like spicy food,” she says. “But when it comes to meat floss, they don't mind.”

While it's easier to buy than make your own pork floss, I won't stop you from your DIY dreams witha little help from YouTube. The formula is fairly straightforward. Boil a pork sirloin or tenderloin in a salted pot of water for a couple hours, and once the pieces of meat are fork-tender, remove them from the liquid and shred. Then, toss in a handful of spices, and slowly stir-fry the shreds in a pan with a thin layer of oil until they’re crispy and dry. A food processor can help break those crispy bits into even smaller fibers, and specialty meat floss machines or bread machines can further expedite the drying process.

I know I’ve hit the condiment jackpot when I start to keep an ingredient right in the middle of the table, handy for sprinkling between bites. Whether I’m sitting down for breakfast, a midday sweet, or a warming dinner, pork floss checks that box.